Flat irons

ABSTRACT

Flat irons adapted for pressing seams and seam-pressing attachments for conventional flat irons in which there is embodied in the underside of the flat iron or attachment a longitudinally extending guide rib arranged to part the free edges of material on each side of a seam and press the material in the immediate vicinity of the seam.

United States Patent lnventor Belinda Haynes 967 Culross Road, Bryanston, Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa App]. No. 861,084 Filed Sept. 25, 1969 Patented Sept. 7, 1971 Priority Sept. 25, 1968 Republic of South Africa FLAT IRONS 6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 38/97, 3 8/8 1 Int. Cl D06i 75/38 Field of Search 38/81, 93,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 494,020 3/1893 Noble 38/93 592,918 11/1897 Rice 38/94 1,963,858 6/1934 Meidell 38/97 FOREIGN PATENTS 112,861 4/1941 Great Britain 38/97 1 Primary ExaminerPatrick D. Lawson AttorneyWaters, Roditi, Schwartz & Nissen ABSTRACT: Flat irons adapted for pressing seams and seampressing attachments for conventional flat irons in which there is embodied in the underside of the flat iron or attachment a longitudinally extending guide rib arranged to part the free edges of material on each side of a seam and press the material in the immediate vicinity of the seam.

PATENTEU SEP 7 IHYI 0 m y 0. M I

FLAT IRONS This invention relates to flat irons particularly adapted for seam pressing, and to attachments to apply to flat irons for this purpose.

The ironing of seams in dressmaking and tailoring presents problems in ensuring that the free edges of the material, once pressed into place on either side of the stitch line do not create of form tramline marks or ridges on the-right side of the garment and that the free edges of material are correctly located on each side of the stitch line before the material is pressed. This is normally done by using the finger or fingers of the one hand to fold free edges of material on opposite sides of the stitch line immediately in advance of the movement of the flat iron.

An object of this invention is to provide means for the elimination of tramline marks or ridges on the right side of the garment and means whereby such folding of the material may be done automatically during a seam-pressing operation.

In accordance with this invention there is provided a seampressing attachment for a flat iron comprising a metal plate having means for detachably securing it against the bottom surface of the soleplate of the flat iron, the exposed surface of said metal plate embodying a longitudinally extending guide rib.

According to a further aspect of this invention there is provided a flat iron in which the soleplate embodies a longitudinally extending and downwardly projecting guide rib.

Two preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric top view of an attachment for a flat iron,

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the underside of the attachment in position on a flat iron,

FIG. 3 is a section taken on line A-A in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a soleplate for a flat iron.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 the invention is applied to a seam-pressing attachment 1 for a conventional electric flat iron 2. This attachment comprises a metal plate 3 having one flat surface 4 adapted to abut the flat bottom surface of the iron soleplate 5. The metal seam-pressing plate 3 has a pointed front end 6 and conforms generally to the shape of the soleplate though it need not conform exactly as long as it can be centrally attached against the soleplate.

Conveniently the sides 7 of the front end of the seampressing plate extend upwardly and slightly inwardly to engage around the corresponding edges of the soleplate 5. The rear end of the seam-pressing plate has an upwardly extending clip formation 8 which clips against the back of the soleplate and/or adjacent portions of the iron thereby detachably locating the seam-pressing plate in position.

The bottom surface of the seam-pressing plate embodies a projecting guide rib 9 having a rounded surface and extending centrally along the length of the seam-pressing plate. Preferably the rib extends from the front end along the full length of the seam-pressing plate.

For use the flat iron is switched on, thereby heating the seam-pressing plate by reason of its contact with the soleplate. The guide rib on the seam-pressing plate is then moved along the stitch line, the rib acting simultaneously to fold the free edges of the material away from the stitch line and press the material in the immediate vicinity of the stitch line. Should further seam-pressing then be required this may be done easily with the normal soleplate of the iron since the material is corrcctly positioned for the operation.

Particularly in larger establishments where the amount of seam pressing justifies this, a rib 10 may be formed integral with an iron soleplate 11 as shown in FIG. 3, the iron then being used solely for seam-pressing purposes.

It will be understood that a number of variations may be made to the above-described embodiments of the invention without departin from the scope of this invention. For example, the shape 0 the attachment may be altered and also the means for securing the attachment to a flat iron may be changed. For example, the attachment may be secured by means of springs attached to the body of the iron.

It will therefore be appreciated that the invention provides useful means for seam pressing of newly made articles of clothing.

Having now particularly described and ascertained my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:

l. A seam-pressing attachment for a flat iron having a soleplate bottom, said attachment comprising a metal plate including means for detachably securing it against and covering the bottom surface of the soleplate of the flat iron, the exposed surface of said metal plate including a longitudinally extending guide rib of substantial transverse width for pressing an article seam.

2. A seam-pressing attachment as claimed in claim I in which the attachment includes a point at one end thereof and the edges of the plate adjacent the point are bent upwardly and slightly inwardly.

3. A seampressing attachment as claimed in claim 2 in which the end of the plate opposite the point includes a clip constituting said means for detachably securing the plate to the flat iron.

4. A seam-pressing attachment as claimed in claim 1 in which the guide rib extends substantially along the entire length of the metal plate.

5. A seam-pressing attachment as claimed in claim 1 in which the metal plate corresponds in shape to the shape of a flat iron.

6. A seam-pressing attachment as claimed in claim 1 wherein said longitudinally extending rib includes an exposed transversely rounded bottom portion. 

1. A seam-pressing attachment for a flat iron having a soleplate bottom, said attachment comprising a metal plate including means for detachably securing it against and covering the bottom surface of the soleplate of the flat iron, the exposed surface of said metal plate including a longitudinally extending guide rib of substantial transverse width for pressing an article seam.
 2. A seam-pressing attachment as claimed in claim 1 in which the attachment includes a point at one end thereof and the edges of the plate adjacent the point are bent upwardly and slightly inwardly.
 3. A seam-pressing attachment as claimed in claim 2 in which the end of the plate opposite the point includes a clip constituting said means for detachably securing the plate to the flat iron.
 4. A seam-pressing attachment as claimed in claim 1 in which the guide rib extends substantially along the entire length of the metal plate.
 5. A seam-pressing attachment as claimed in claim 1 in which the metal plate corresponds in shape to the shape of a flat iron.
 6. A seam-pressing attachment as claimed in claim 1 wherein said longitudinally extending rib includes an exposed transversely rounded bottom portion. 